Art Night

Topiaries, by Christie Beniston, is part of Pasadena's Rotating Art Exhibition program. 

I took this photo in February of 2012. 

Bellis reports that the art is still there at the corner of Walnut and Catalina.

Do your Friday night plans include Art Night Pasadena? If not, you must cancel whatever you've got going on and get yourself some free art!

Have you ever wondered what they're doing up in them thar hills at the Art Center College of Design? Maybe you'd like to catch a dance performance, or a nostalgic video about the Robinson brothers, Jackie and Mack. How often do you get to go to the Norton Simon for free, or see beneath the foundations of Room 13? Or maybe you'd like to check out a newer gallery like the Off-Ramp.

Music, theater, dance, art, more and more. You can't possibly see it all but you can try, with the help of free shuttles between venues.

One stop I hope you'll make is at the Pasadena Central Library, where I'll be meeting and greeting visitors along with other authors, artists and well-known storybook characters as we celebrate 130 years of reading in Pasadena. There are so many great Art Night activities for kids and the library is one of them, with family fun activities; musical performances, craft making, comics creators and more.

If you're not too worn out, don't forget the Art Walk on Saturday, when you can stop by Vroman's and see Debbi Swanson Patrick's Telling Images in Art on the Stairwell, with a reception from 1-3 pm.

While you're at it, Altadena has an important vote coming up on November 4th. Please vote yes on Measure A and keep the Altadena Libraries going!

Bug and Bokeh

A photographer who inspires me is Ibarionex Perello. He's a student of light and color, a fantastic portraitist and an artist to his core.

Ibarionex teaches photography at the high-tech high-fab Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He also teaches online via his hugely popular podcasts at The Candid Frame. He travels, lectures, leads photo safaris and is a very busy guy.

I'm fortunate to call Ibarionex and his wife Cynthia my friends and I want to keep it that way. So when I get a chance to go walking at Hahamongna Watershed Park with them, their dog Spenser and our cameras, I try not to bug the poor guy every second with, "how would you shoot this?" and "what kind of lens is that?"

But Ibarionex can't help but be generous. He let me use his macro lens. I didn't even have to ask, he just offered. And he found this leaf with this bug on it with this light coming from behind and this beautiful background and he pointed it out to me. All I did was focus and shoot.

Spenser fell madly in love with Hahamongna, so Cynthia had her hands full. But she managed to get off some good shots with her iPhone while Ibarionex and I drifted about the Hahmongna basin, just shooting away.

There is important news about the Hahamongna basin, which I'll tell you tomorrow.

I love that macro lens, by the way.

Communication Not Separation

I saw this mural when I was out shooting pictures of the Rose Parade aftermath. It's at 1292 Colorado Blvd. overlooking the parking lot just west of the Incycle bicycle shop.

The artist is Victor Steinbacher, assisted by Leo Sanchez. A tidbit of undated information I found on the web said Steinbacher studied at Art Center College of Design and resides in Pasadena. The mural dates from 1993. That's about it. I found even less about Sanchez.

This piece isn't on the City of Pasadena Art Walks, which are more centrally located to downtown. But there's art all over Pasadena. You don't have to look too hard to discover it.

My favorite thing about the mural is that I had never seen it before. I love finding new things (new to me). Plus I love that the guy on the left is green.

What do you think of it?